Stopped losing weight and would love some advice

From July to November I lost 40 pounds (I am 5' 6" and went from 185 to 145).  Over this past month I have not lost an ounce even though I am eating extremely healthy, drinking plenty of water and my activity level has not changed.  Any ideas for getting off of this plateau that I am on?  I know that I can increase my activity, but there is just not time in my life right now for that.  I do not want to do anything unhealthy, I just want to be able to drop this last 10 lbs.  Any advice would be greatly appreciated

What about increasing your veggie intake and decreasing something else?  That is what I have heard works.

Mix it up.

What are you doing to exercise? Try more of one thing, less of another. Take a class in something you've always wanted to try, or maybe schedule group outdoor activities.

Eat less of one thing and more of another. Maybe less simple carbs, more proteins and green leafy veggies.

Just try to shock your body, in a healthy way, by throwing something at it that isn't expected.

You can also try to cycle your calories (google that for a proper explanation) 

You're already squarely in the middle of the 'healthy' bmi range - so if your aim was to be healthy as you say on your profile, you're already there sweety!  So maybe 145 pounds really is as low as your body wants to go - you're not exactly a shrimp at 5'6", and looking at your lastest picture in the gallery, you look great.

The calorie cycling sounds like a good idea.  Thanks!  I do not really have any simple carbs to give up.  I mostly eat fresh vegetables, raw fish, shrimp, grilled chicken, and any pasta or bread that I eat (which is only 2-3 servings a week) is whole wheat.  I also do not have any fat to give up either as I only get about 10grams of it a day.  My only "treat" is a serving of Fat Free Pringles a couple of times a week, which would be very depressing to give up.  But I will give the calorie cycling thing a shot.

Sunshine, your body needs to relax for a little bit.  You just lost 40 lbs.  Congrats, that is great.  It was also a lot of stress on your system.  Give it a bit of time to get use to being forty pounds lighter.

I was in a very similar situation and then I started HIIT on my elliptical. This broke my plateau and so far I have been losing consideraby 1-2 pounds a week. Give it a shot and see. There are way many articles to help you figure how to go about doing HIIT. Good Luck!

First, once you are within the last ten lbs, progress is A LOT slower. I lost an average of only 0.4 lbs per week.

Second, I don't think I would've lost the last 10 lbs if I wasn't exercising. I could be wrong about this.... but I kinda doubt it. It doesn't take a lot of exercise (I only run about 10 miles a week), but it makes all the difference. When you add up the calories I burned running a few times per week over the months, and divide by 3500, it nice and neatly equals what I've lost. I have no doubt if I stopped the exercise, I'd put back 10 lbs in no time and settle in at that weight.

Two years ago, I weighed 20 lbs more yet was GAINING weight on just 1400 calories a day... flash forward to today, and I am 20 lbs lighter, 4 sizes smaller, and easily MAINTAINING on 1850 calories.... big difference!

I did not start out running; initially, I just walked. I walked about an hour 4-5 times a week. Now that it's winter and I'm running, I run more like 30 minutes every other day. And I'm pretty darn slow too. It really doesn't take that much.

Your body goes through a ton of changes when you incorporate exercise and get fit. Including growing more capillaries and a stronger heart to pump oxygen throughout your muscles. As your Vo2 max increases, so does your metabolism. So look at it this way: you are currently in the body of a 145 lb woman. If you want to be in the body of a 135 lb woman, it is likely going to take creating a new, fitter body to reach that goal.

That's the way I've always looked at it. I mean, consider this, if this isn't merely a plateau... if this is your body's new caloric level, now that you weigh less (and possibly your metabolism has slowed)... can you live with that for the rest of your life?

Original Post by sunshine71:

The calorie cycling sounds like a good idea.  Thanks!  I do not really have any simple carbs to give up.  I mostly eat fresh vegetables, raw fish, shrimp, grilled chicken, and any pasta or bread that I eat (which is only 2-3 servings a week) is whole wheat.  I also do not have any fat to give up either as I only get about 10grams of it a day.  My only "treat" is a serving of Fat Free Pringles a couple of times a week, which would be very depressing to give up.  But I will give the calorie cycling thing a shot.

10g of fat per day is probably too low.... has a doctor advised you to eat an ultra-low fat diet for cardiac-related reasons? A diet too low in fat can sometimes signal a "crisis" to your metabolism, triggering conservation of resources.

Try INCREASING your calories by 150-200 calories each day ... all of them from healthy fats (almonds would be my suggestion) ... and see if that "tells" your body you're not starving and allows you to release a little more weight. I really recommend giving this a 2-week try.

=^..^= MOLLY

also.. please please please watch your sodium intake! i was on 133 for a whole month eating 1200-1500 calories, cycling them, changing my excersises but nothing worked.
a month later i went on vacation and lost 5 lbs in 6 days. i was at the bahamas so definantley took in a LOT of water
a month later, i looked back and saw i was getting 3000+ mg of sodium per day! so please check it :)

Thank you everyone for all of the great suggestions and support.  I am going to try kicking up the exercising with the HIIT method and adding some extra calories once a week.  I will try to add some fat, but I worry so much about getting too much fat that I usually over compensate and do not get enough.  I will try the nuts as a replacement snack for my Fat Free Pringles.  Are all nuts created equal?  I love cashews and pistachios.  Are they as good for me as almonds?  I know that I probably eat too much sodium, but I usually fluctuate between 90% and 120% per day, but I do drink at least 150 ounces of water a day and 30 ounces of decaf green tea a day and I do not drink any beverages with caffeine or sugar.

 

I dont know what your calorie limit was when you weighed 185 but now that you are 145 you should lower that value.

 IE at 185 you needed 2000 cals a day to lose 1lb a week

now at 145 you need only 1500 cals a day to lose 1lb a week

 that is my suggestion, you have less of you (yea!) but now you need less food.

 then again more cardio (HIIT is the best) would also make you have a larger caloric deficit and that will help weight loss too

This is an average of the last 30 days which is about typical for me.  I log everything so this is very accurate

Fat - 16.1% (368 grams)
Protein - 30.7% (1,579 grams)
Carbohydrates - 49.2% (2,526 grams)
Alcohol - 4.0% (118 grams)
Other - 0.0%

Daily Calorie Intake - 1,024 cals
Daily Sodium Intake - 2,496 mg
Daily Cholesterol Intake - 111 mg
Daily Fiber Intake - 29 grams

Please ignore the poster who said to cut back your calories more... you're already too low for sustained good health! That average should be at least 1200 calories, not 1000... And you definitely need more fat - the 'good' fats  should be at least 20% of your diet.  Sodium is on the high side too - try for less than 2000mg.

OK from looking at your log I can tell you right now that you are not eating enough food. When you lower calories too low it causes your bodies anti-starvation mechanism to kick in which in turn prevents any fat-loss from occurring. Trust me I am proof. I am in the process of repairing my metabolism because I didn't eat enough calories to begin with. I am FAR from anorexic. I'm 5'9 and currently weigh 214 pounds. When I began I weighed 238 pounds and made the mistake of cutting calories to 1500 PLUS exercising EVERYDAY on the elliptical. I kept cutting the calories down all the way to 1000 a day sometimes. I should have been eating 2300. Now because of this my nutritionist has made me eat at maintenance for almost a month. I have gained 10 lbs, but now I can go back to fat loss at a reasonable intake of 1800-2000. I have a friend who is your size and height and loses great on 1600-1800. I think now may be the time to consult a nutritionist to get back on track.

Best of luck to you!

Again, thank you to everyone for your suggestions.  I have increased my exercise and increased my calories to about 1400 a day and my fat intake to 20% (all good fats) and I have broken thru the wall.  I weighed in today at 140 (YEAH!!!) so I am feeling a lot more convinced that I need to keep my fat and cals up and keep up the exercise (I hate to exercise!).  Speaking of which, any suggestions for a fun exercise DVD that burns cals and tones the butt and thighs?  I am doing Billy Blanks Tae Bo now.  It is a great cardio workout and my arms look better than they have in years, but it is doing nothing for my big butt or saddlebags (I actually have always had really nice legs except for the very top outer thigh and right below my butt).  I still want to keep up the Tae Bo, but I thought that it might be better to alternate days with another type of workout.  I already walk on my lunch hour so I am looking for another DVD for working out.  Thanks!!

Thats awesome! Glad you stuck through it and didn't give up !

Have you looked into trying Power 90? Its great, thats what I do sometimes if I get bored with my elliptical.